. Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen in Denmark, claim that there are enough glaciers of frozen waters below the dusty layer on Mars for the entire planet. Dust protects the ice from being vaporized and keeps it safe. The surface of Mars looked completely dry and dusty when it was first viewed. Radar measurements have shown that beneath all the dust, there are huge glaciers of water. Recent studies show how large the glaciers actually are and how much water they contain. C. S. Hvidberg, L. S. Schmidt, and N. B. Karlsson published their results in the journal Geographical Research Letters. (citation below). Mars’ polar ice cap has frozen water, as well as the glaciers beneath it (blue dots). (Credit to Mars Digital Image Model NASA/Nanna Karlsson). There are several Mars satellites that orbit it. Satellite images have allowed researchers to see the form of the glaciers below the surface. Researchers have long wondered if the ice is made of frozen water, CO2 (carbon dioxide), or mud. The NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter radar data helped the researchers determine it to be frozen H2O. The researchers then attempted to determine how thick it was, and whether its glaciers were similar to those found on Earth. Nanna Bjornholt Karsson said that radar measurements from ten years ago were used to determine the thickness and behavior of the ice. The glacier, which is a large chunk of ice that flows into a form to tell us how it behaves, is a complex structure. This high resolution stereo camera image shows how the thick dust layer covers the glaciers. According to Dr. Karlsson, previous research had found thousands of similar glacier formations on Mars. These formations are found in the area between 300 & 500,, which is roughly where Earth and Denmark meet. Both the northern and southern parts of Mars are home to glaciers. Some areas of Mars had high-resolution data and were very detailed. However, other parts were less well documented. Scientists were able to determine how thick and dense the ice across glacier belts by combining sparse data and information from well-documented locations. Dr. Karlsson stated that ice could be found covering the entire planet. Mars’ atmosphere pressure is so low, that it could evaporate without dust. Instead it will become water vapour. Citation: “Volumes of Martian Mid-Latitude Glaciers from Radar Observations and Ice-Flow Modelling,” N. B. Karlsson and L. S. Schmidt. Geophysical Research Letters. DOI: 10. 1002/2015GL063219.
